‘Expendables 3’ Final Trailer: Time For Some Explosions

Those who’re looking forward to seeing The Expendables 3 in theaters – and who have not gone out and watched the pirated version that’s been leaked online ahead of then – can rejoice in the arrival of one final trailer for the old-school action genre icon-studded affair. Unlike the recently-released extended TV promos for the film, this new theatrical preview contains a reasonable amount of previously-unrelaesed footage – and more than a reasonable amount of things (buildings and helicopters, for the most part) exploding onscreen.

Expendables 3 may pack more flying bullets, death-defying stunts, and stuff going boom than its predecessors, but the brand has also gone PG-13 for the latest installment. That is a far cry from the decidedly R-Rated features of the 1980s and ’90s that inspired the property in the first place (Rambo, Predator, and so on); even by today’s standards, such films are far too violent and full of foul language to be labeled “hard PG-13,” for sure.

On the other hand, as far as PG-13 action features go, this one looks pretty fun. Maybe the throwback spirit has diminished a good deal since the first movie (and after the series almost crossed over fully into parody territory in part two), but now we may get a solid action movie experience on its own terms, in return. Indeed, judging by the trailer footage shown so far, director Patrick Hughes’ Expendables installment will be far more technically proficient than previous films in the series.

Interestingly, the Expendables 3 storyline – Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) must settle an old score with his former partner, Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson) – actually reads as being somewhat more retro in spirit than those for the previous Expendables features. That’s all the more interesting since, in terms of casting, the ensemble this round includes not just more old-timers (see: Welsey Snipes and Antonio Banderas having joined the party), but several younger action heroes in the making to boot.

Basically, between the rating, casting, and story, Expendables 3 seems designed to appeal to both those who grew up watching ’80s/’90s action and, well, anyone else who appreciates two hours of down n’ dirty action cinema. Will it be a better film and/or more successful at the box office for it? Neither is a given, but we might as well strap in, hang on, and hope for the best at this stage.